If you’re a fan of animation—and more specifically manga—we recommend following storyboard artist and illustrator Alex Chiu. Based in LA, Chiu has had a successful career working for studios as big as Marvel Animation, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Netflix. Currently working as a Director at Warner Bros., Chiu’s love of manga and anime is present throughout her work.
But other than anime, she draws inspiration from her day-to-day. “In terms of other things that inspire me, I’d say real-life events and experiences,” she reflected once in an interview with Concept Art Empire. “Whether it be politics, the experiences I share with my friends and family, the feeling I get after I watch a good movie—stuff like that always sparks ideas for me!”
Growing up, Chiu’s creative inclination was evident. “I always doodled as a kid according to my parents,” she recalls. “But I didn’t really pick up the pencil and draw every day with the intention of getting better in some shape or form until I was 10.”
Studying illustration in school, and later in college, allowed her to think creatively and flexibly. And while it took some years before she would discover storyboarding, her studies allowed her to stretch the “storytelling muscle” through comics, illustration, and optional film projects.
“I thought I wanted to be a graphic designer, a politician [laughs in the distance], a children’s book illustrator, a visual development artist,” she admits, “until I realized that I was awful at making finished drawings, hahaha! But also that storyboarding was my favorite aspect of the animation pipeline.”
Her creations, most of which she shares online, are filled with a sense of joy and wonder. Scroll down to see some recent highlights!
